Ling Yan hadn't expected there to be so many layers to Yun Xi's plan. As Yun Xi laid out her analysis, Ling Yan's eyes sharpened threefold. She hissed under her breath, low and furious:
"Those Ying scoundrels—what a scheme."
Yun Xi kept her gaze lowered, thinking fast. Then she looked up suddenly.
"The Grand Seer and his people can come and go through the palace without anyone noticing. There must be hidden passages. After that fake epidemic fourteen years ago, Master Qingyi cleared most of their men from the palace. Even after all these years, the passages should be as they were. Aunt Lanchu knows them well."
"You'll give her the Drunken-Gu ring, and ask her to draw a map of the palace's secret routes—be especially careful about entrances and exits. Nothing can be omitted."
"Get this to Ah-Yuan and Father today if you can. They need it to deploy troops."
Her face grew grave. Ling Yan bowed and said, "Miss, don't worry. I'll go at once."
"Wait—"
Yun Xi's hand darted out and caught Ling Yan's arm. For a moment a flicker of hesitation crossed her face; then she forced herself and spoke.
"There is one more thing. Pass it on for me."
"What is it?"
"Tell Aunt Lanchu that the Grand Seer knows about Consort Qing's child."
Ling Yan's eyes widened. Consort Qing had a child? The posthumous son of the late emperor?
She didn't speak—Yun Xi had her by the sleeve; she couldn't hide what was going through her head. Yun Xi had kept silent the day she discovered the secret between Emperor Zhaohuan and Consort Qing; she told only Yi Yuan when he saw how troubled she was. Now, thinking back, she wanted she had kept her lips sealed at all costs. There was no advantage in anyone else knowing. Yun Xi had no intention of telling Ling Yan more.
She didn't correct Ling Yan's silent shock. She simply said, "Tell Aunt Lanchu that the Grand Seer said, 'His Majesty trusts Consort Qing and her child above all.' She'll know what to do."
"And—" Yun Xi's voice snapped cold as steel, "do not mention this to a second person. Whoever they are. If I ever ask you about Consort Qing's child, you must say you know nothing. Understand?"
Her words had hardly fallen when a rustling came from outside.
Both women froze and stepped apart instinctively. Yun Xi slid back into the corner of the cage as if she were searching for an escape. Ling Yan had already reached the door and snapped it shut, hanging the key back on the guard she had earlier taken it from.
There was no time for more. Ling Yan gave Yun Xi a look that said, Trust me, then disappeared.
A moment later two figures appeared at the doorway.
Yun Xi glanced up. The silhouettes looked like Prince Zongzheng Fengyi and—Yi Zhen?
When had those two grown so close?
She kept her face calm, pretending not to notice, and continued to pry at the iron bars as if trying to escape.
Prince Zongzheng's eyes caught the two guards collapsed at the door. His heart sank. He hurried over in three strides to check on Yun Xi's state.
Seeing her inside the cage, feigning a break-out attempt, he breathed out a visible relief. Yun Xi played along, withdrawing her hands and settling into an expression of quiet composure, as if embarrassed to be caught.
The prince kicked the two unconscious guards awake, scowling. He ordered his attendants to search for whoever had broken in, then berated the guards, sent them off to be punished, and got a fresh set of sentries posted.
When he'd vented his anger, he narrowed his eyes at Yun Xi. He gave a cold, disdainful smile. "Don't waste your efforts. This cage is made from the same alloy we use to lock up tigers and other beasts. Not only can you not get out—no wild animal would either."
Yun Xi ignored him. Her gaze slipped past the bars to the face of Yi Zhen, who was full of hatred.
Then Yun Xi smiled—light, scornful, with a tilt of pity.
That smile stoked an unknown fury in Yi Zhen.
"What's there to smile about?" Yi Zhen snarled. "You're dying and still putting on airs. It's nauseating."
She glared at the prince, teeth bared. "Open the door! I want to teach this bitch a lesson—make her wish she'd never lived. She deserves to know what being alive but not living feels like."
"Princess, calm yourself," the prince soothed with his words, but his body didn't move. "I promised you—I'll make her suffer, strip her to the bone and let her die in pain. I will do that."
"But not yet. She possesses something I need."
He added with a hint of something more, "And, Princess, you saw what happened: someone sneaked in trying to rescue her. Yi Yuan's imprisoned, the Yun household has only the appallingly weak Liu Jingyue left—yet someone managed to slip in without a sound. That means she has hidden power behind her... absolute loyalty."
Yun Xi gave a derisive little laugh.
"If I were to open that door now and some thug carried her off, wouldn't all our arrangements be ruined?"
Was he... implying Shen Zhou?
Yun Xi's eyes narrowed, but she smiled as if amused. "As expected of the Seventh Prince—sharp as ever. You can see the whole from a single thread."
Her smile brightened, sudden warmth flooding her voice. "Yes. It was Shen Zhou. Though he pretended to cooperate with you, his heart—his only thought—was me."
"For him, he'd risk everything to save me. So—"
Her regard fixed on Prince Zongzheng like a blade, her eyes clear and honest as a bell, she said plainly, "You should kill him for me."
The words were spoken with a sincerity that was half-mockery. Instead of elation, the prince felt only the sting of being mocked and humiliated.
His face darkened.
Words like that—half true, half false—were the hardest to read. If only he had the mind-reading talisman on his side; without it, he could only judge.
How valuable the mind-reading charm was, he thought: to unmask treachery and devotions with a glance; to bypass guessing and simply read the truth.
He opened his mouth to respond, but Yi Zhen cut in first.
"Impossible," she said. "Even if he had been foolish before, Shen Zhou personally killed those two—Ling Yan and Saixing. He wouldn't still be pining after that bitch."
"What did you say!?" Yun Xi's expression changed in an instant. She lunged forward, clutching the iron post, staring at them as if the ground had given way beneath her.
"What happened to Ling Yan and Saixing?" she demanded.
Yi Zhen smiled like a blade. She smoothed a strand of hair and feigned innocence in a treacly voice. "Oh—right, I forgot you didn't know. Those two wretches of yours? Shen Zhou killed them."
"One sword through the heart. Tsk tsk... such a quick, painless death. It's almost unkind. Hardly satisfying at all," she said, and the malicious glee in her words was as cold as ice.